Henry Ford for Kids: His Life and Ideas, with 21 Activities

Henry Ford for Kids: His Life and Ideas, with 21 Activities — page 9
FARM BOY MECHANIC enry Ford was born to William and Mary Ford on July 30 1863 in Dearborn Michigan a rural farm town eight miles west of Detroit The oldest of six children Henry claimed to the day he died that the monotony of farming was his inspiration for creating all things mechanical I have followed many a weary mile behind a plow and I know all the drudgery of it Ford wrote What a waste when in the same time a tractor could do six times as much work Henry’s father William fled Ireland at the age of 21 during the great potato famine of 1847 William's parents two brothers and four sisters made the dangerous Atlantic voyage to the United States along with him Though William was called a boy in the Irish tradition because his father was still alive he was very much a man Described as of medium height with a muscular strength gray eyes and a serious demeanor William arrived in America already a skilled carpen ter He would put his talents to good use as a